tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55800817725929739412017-08-15T20:07:58.451-05:00the fawl blog[from audrey with love]Audrey Schroderhttps://plus.google.com/115740603399835945263noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5580081772592973941.post-37507438827237188432014-12-27T15:31:00.001-06:002014-12-27T15:33:46.454-06:00How to stop liking your company's Facebook posts as the company<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ilmgmA0GDkw/VJ8igCSkz7I/AAAAAAAAAaY/J-zw4pHVL5g/s1600/FB_how_to.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ilmgmA0GDkw/VJ8igCSkz7I/AAAAAAAAAaY/J-zw4pHVL5g/s1600/FB_how_to.jpeg" height="180" title="FB_how_to" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Almost</i> as easy as clicking a button.</td></tr></tbody></table>This is something you need to know if you are an admin for your company or organization's Facebook page. Sometimes people accidentally like their company's status updates as the page. I see this happen too often and am hoping I can help prevent people from making the mistake.<br /><br />If another admin from your company posts a status update from the company on Facebook, you as an <i>individual</i>&nbsp;may want to like, comment, or share the post. But you need to make sure you're logged into Facebook from your personal account. If you are logged in as the company, then your like or comment will appear from the company.&nbsp;As awesome as the post may be, the company shouldn't like their own updates. It jut looks weird. (Of course they like it, they wrote it.)&nbsp;If you share the post as the company, you'll be sharing it on the Facebook page it originally appeared and not with your personal friends.<br /><br />How do you prevent accidentally liking your own page's status updates as the page? Easy. Just before clicking the like button, click on 'comment.' Either your personal profile photo will show up, or your company's. If it's the company logo you're looking at, you need to switch over to your personal profile.<br /><br />When you're on the company page, about to comment on an update, make sure you're commenting as who you want to. When you click on the arrow, the list of pages you manage will appear, in addition to your personal profile.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cKStM7-PARg/VJ8YmO0wAEI/AAAAAAAAAaI/Vvuo2tQPcUA/s1600/Picture%2B23.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cKStM7-PARg/VJ8YmO0wAEI/AAAAAAAAAaI/Vvuo2tQPcUA/s1600/Picture%2B23.png" height="152" title="FB_how_to_1" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Depending on your company and what the Facebook page is for, it may make sense for you to comment as an individual. (Like if the Facebook page is specifically for employees.)<br /><br />If the page is for consumers, your job as one of the admins may be to help respond to comments made on the page. In this case, you'll probably never need to post as yourself.&nbsp;On the page's settings, you can set the default post attribution to either the page or your personal profile.<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y_xMnjDq0qc/VJ8LaAFTM8I/AAAAAAAAAZs/H74Z9Q16Tuw/s1600/Picture%2B20.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y_xMnjDq0qc/VJ8LaAFTM8I/AAAAAAAAAZs/H74Z9Q16Tuw/s1600/Picture%2B20.png" height="132" title="FB_how_to_2" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Please let me know if you have questions, and share with your fellow Facebook admins so they're doing it right!</div>Audrey Schroderhttps://plus.google.com/115740603399835945263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5580081772592973941.post-91253810210550083862014-11-29T20:58:00.003-06:002014-11-29T21:06:27.668-06:0022 things I'm thankful for <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PAcz9vrxLs0/VHqFAwqBRhI/AAAAAAAAAYY/xMx1xerPhgM/s1600/1660882_10152497505218008_3058014821211999295_n.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PAcz9vrxLs0/VHqFAwqBRhI/AAAAAAAAAYY/xMx1xerPhgM/s1600/1660882_10152497505218008_3058014821211999295_n.jpeg" height="172" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fam.</td></tr></tbody></table>'Tis the season to be thankful. Well, we really should be thankful more than just once a year, which I totally am. But this being the Thanksgiving weekend, it's an excellent time to actually put it in writing. So here's my list of 22 things I'm thankful for right now.<br /><div><br /></div><div>1. My mom and dad, and the fact that they're still alive and married to each other.</div><div>2. My sister, who is the most thoughtful and kind woman I've ever known.</div><div>3. My brother, who is unbelievably smart.</div><div>4.&nbsp;My fiancee James,&nbsp;who's just as&nbsp;weird&nbsp;as me.&nbsp;</div><div>5. My grandparents, and being able to know and hang out with all 4 of them during my lifetime.</div><div>6.&nbsp;My friend Julie,&nbsp;who knows everything about me and still loves me.</div><div>7. My friend Marilyn, who is the sweetest friend I could ever ask for.&nbsp;</div><div>8.&nbsp;My friend Jill, who is absolutely hilarious and such an incredible mom to her son.</div><div>9.&nbsp;My friend Leigha, who makes me laugh every time we get together.</div><div>10. My future in-laws, and for how welcoming they are.</div><div>11.&nbsp;My education. I am really lucky that my parents saved ALL the money it costs to attend college and paid for me.</div><div>12. The Internet.</div><div>13. Art.</div><div>14. My car.</div><div>15. Four seasons, and fall in particular.</div><div>16.&nbsp;My metabolism because I should probably weigh twice what I do. I know, #firstworldproblems.</div><div>17.&nbsp;Chocolate.&nbsp;</div><div>18.&nbsp;Living in Chicago. I've always wanted to live here and it's still as cool as I thought it'd be. There's always stuff to do and if you get bored, it's your own damn fault. (I stole that from <i>Time Out Chicago</i>.)</div><div>19.&nbsp;WGN Morning News. Larry and Robin make me laugh every morning.<br />20.&nbsp;America. I love this country and all the freedoms we have.<br />21. <a href="http://audreyschroder.blogspot.com/search/label/Social%20Media%20Club" target="_blank">Social Media Club</a>&nbsp;and all the&nbsp;awesome people I've met in my local club and through the global network.<br />22. Editing. Because I know I left stuff out and may want to add to this list later.</div>Audrey Schroderhttps://plus.google.com/115740603399835945263noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5580081772592973941.post-16035439829223234812014-11-18T11:53:00.000-06:002014-11-18T11:53:24.347-06:00Try vision boarding to accomplish your goals<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fIdp_e6SNs0/VGtzJhmxCrI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/pUUwWQBD2YA/s1600/102314%2Bvision%2Bboard.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fIdp_e6SNs0/VGtzJhmxCrI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/pUUwWQBD2YA/s1600/102314%2Bvision%2Bboard.jpeg" height="320" width="260" /></a></div>In high school my friend Jill and I spent hours creating collages. We used photos, magazines, construction paper, packing tape, colored pencils, glue and nail polish to make all kinds of fun collages. Mine were mainly about fashion and models, with words of all the big cities spelled out. Back then, the purpose was just simply to make art. It was fun. I proudly hung the collages up all over my bedroom.<br /><br />I was stoked when&nbsp;Nicole Yeary&nbsp;invited me to a vision board event at Dev Bootcamp!&nbsp;<a href="http://ms-tech.co/" target="_blank">Ms. Tech</a>, the women in tech group held a class on how to make vision boards. Our instructor was Shawna Burkhart, founder of&nbsp;<a href="http://thehonestedge.com/" target="_blank">The Honest Edge</a>. She's a life coach and one of the things she does with clients is teach them how to create vision boards.<br /><br />"Vision boarding" is all about letting go of left brain thoughts (logic, critical thinking, reasoning) and focusing on pretty pictures that make you happy. People create vision boards for all kinds of reasons. To help them figure their passion in life and where they want to take their career. To help plan events and visualize how you want them to go. To help set goals, like weight loss. Shawna taught us that the best way to begin is by trying to stop thinking about the images that you select and focus on how they make you feel. When flipping through a magazine, you might like a photo of a skinny chic and want to be thin like her, but if the image doesn't make you feel good inside, then don't pull it. She also said to try to stay away from words. You would think that inspirational words might help, but they actually detract your thinking, since language is part of the left brain.<br /><br />Once we were wrapping up our projects, I asked Shawna what we were supposed to do with them. I thought she was going to say to hang them somewhere you would see every day, maybe in the morning getting ready for work, or at your desk. She surprised me by saying vision boarding is more about the process. You've already pulled the images and placed them on your board, so you don't need to remind yourself of that every day. They're already engrained in your head. She said that we'll probably find ourselves being aware of things going on in our lives that relate to our vision boards. We've trained our brains to watch out for these things, but also want to seek them out.<br /><br />Shawna showed us a vision board that she had created many years ago which had a couple photos from India on it. At the time, she wasn't sure why she'd pulled them, she just liked how they looked. She ended up taking a vacation there and absolutely loved it. Had she programed her brain to visit the country, or was it a coincidence? Somehow her left brain knew the trip was something she should do.<br /><br />In addition to taking all the pictures and gluing them onto paper, Shawna also has "vision piles." This is probably just as effective as actually making a board. You may not realize it, but Pinterest is like digital vision boarding. By using the principles of letting go of the left brain thinking, you can make this form work for reaching your goals. Making my own vision board was one of the coolest things I've done in a while and definitely recommend you give it a try!<br /><br />Have you ever made a vision board? How'd it turn out?<br /><br />Check out some pics from the event on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.395493470606652.1073741872.114635478692454&amp;type=1">Ms. Tech Facebook page</a>!Audrey Schroderhttps://plus.google.com/115740603399835945263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5580081772592973941.post-11446760651069071082014-06-08T21:33:00.003-05:002014-06-08T21:37:27.624-05:00The Color Run: the happiest 5k on the planet<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jn0smAGWN6E/U5UZtv6GTlI/AAAAAAAAATY/tPKimQs36J0/s1600/unnamed.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jn0smAGWN6E/U5UZtv6GTlI/AAAAAAAAATY/tPKimQs36J0/s1600/unnamed.jpeg" height="176" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Color Run Chicago Party</td></tr></tbody></table>Today I ran my first Color Run and it was AWESOME! This is the third <a href="http://audreyschroder.blogspot.com/2013/10/running-highwoods-bloody-mary-5k.html" target="_blank">5k race</a> I've completed and totally wins most fun. A couple months ago I was looking for a run that my boyfriend and I could do together. We signed up for The Color Run because it's in Chicago, 45 bucks wasn't too pricey and it looked like a good time.<br /><br />I've been dancing my way through 2-4 Zumba classes for the past 6 months, and recently added running into the routine to prepare for this. 3.1 miles isn't much to my running friends, but seems like a lot for people who don't consider themselves runners. The Color Run is perfect for anyone running their first race. It's not timed, it's just for fun!<br /><br />This morning started out at a chilly 57 degrees. Our outfits: the "official" Color Run white t-shirts, white shorts, running shoes, sweet headband and wrist band and fanny packs. I don't know how many people participated, but there were A LOT of runners! Everyone wears white because you get sprayed with a different color paint at each kilometer. The paint is actually powder which volunteers throw at people as they run by. At the end of the race you're covered head to toe in pink, orange, purple and blue.<br /><br />Each of these checkpoints go kind of slow. You&nbsp;definitely&nbsp;want to wait and make sure you get some paint, so you usually have to come to a complete stop. So, if you're timing this thing, you'll be annoyed and won't enjoy it. Just get your paint and have fun! People bring their strollers and the paint throwers gingerly sprinkle paint on the little kids. The people in charge of blue looked just like Smurfs. It was great. A lot of people end up grabbing powder from the ground and tossing it in the air and on themselves.<br /><br />My goal was to run the whole time without stopping to walk. Well I ended up walking a <i>little</i>. But at the finish line, I wasn't dead, and realized I could have been running a bit faster. Next time I'll try to go faster!&nbsp;At the end everyone went through a big finish line in Grant Park and got blasted with confetti. Then we got a paint powder packet for the party. They had a few sponsor tents where we picked up granola bars, bath sponges from Body Image and tried Honest Tea's new fizzy drink (not bad). There's a stage with a band, a giant bubble machine, and they throw freebies into the crowd. Every 15 minutes they have everyone open up their individual paint packets and throw them in the air. This is super fun to watch and be a part of.<br /><br />The paint wasn't too hard to scrub off. My neck is still a little blue...but that's OK! I would TOTALLY recommend this race to anyone who think it looks like fun. Trust me, it's a blast!Audrey Schroderhttps://plus.google.com/115740603399835945263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5580081772592973941.post-17652488320066037562014-04-03T20:58:00.001-05:002014-11-18T11:55:11.814-06:00Spin Sucks: Communication and Reputation in the Digital Age is a must-read book <b id="docs-internal-guid-5820603d-2a53-a205-ff09-876733058bf1" style="font-weight: normal;"></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0cYr2Z9Qyu4/Uz4QGieU9JI/AAAAAAAAASs/pkwPSXMPgMo/s1600/Spin+Sucks+Fish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0cYr2Z9Qyu4/Uz4QGieU9JI/AAAAAAAAASs/pkwPSXMPgMo/s1600/Spin+Sucks+Fish.jpg" height="320" width="313" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smart fish</td></tr></tbody></table><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-5820603d-2a53-a205-ff09-876733058bf1" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you work in Public Relations or Marketing, you’ve likely heard of Gini Dietrich or read her blog,</span><a href="http://spinsucks.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Spin Sucks</span></a><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Gini is the founder and CEO of PR and marketing firm Arment Dietrich. She just published her second book, Spin Sucks.</span></span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-5820603d-2a53-a205-ff09-876733058bf1" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-5820603d-2a53-a205-ff09-876733058bf1" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A little over a month ago she announced on her blog that she was looking for brand ambassadors to help promote her new book Spin Sucks. It sounded like an amazing opportunity and I signed up right away. I was super excited when I got the email saying I was chosen! This meant I got to read the galley (advance copy)! Well the book officially launched and is available now on</span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Spin-Sucks-Communication-Reputation-Management/dp/078974886X" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Amazon</span></a><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for just 15 bucks.</span></span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-5820603d-2a53-a205-ff09-876733058bf1" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-5820603d-2a53-a205-ff09-876733058bf1" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I really, really enjoyed Spin Sucks. It’s written in an easy to understand way, and provides tons of real world examples. Halfway through the book, I’d already found three specific items that I wanted to share with my boss. I wanted to tell him what I’d learned about keyword stuffing, how the purpose of press releases has changed in the digital era, and about Talkwalker Alerts, an alternative to Google Alerts. (Which by the way, I’ve since set up and can attest to how much more helpful they are than Google Alerts.)</span></span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-5820603d-2a53-a205-ff09-876733058bf1" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-5820603d-2a53-a205-ff09-876733058bf1" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Another thing I was excited to take back with me to work was that according to Gini, one new blog post each week is sufficient enough to keep your website or blog up to date, and search engines satisfied with your updated content. She says it’s important to be consistent when updating content, so if you want to write a new blog post every day, you have to write one every day, if you don’t have time for that, try once per week, but publish at the same time every week. The book dives much deeper into SEO and links, and I appreciate how easy it is to understand and put this info to use.</span></span></b></div><b id="docs-internal-guid-5820603d-2a53-a205-ff09-876733058bf1" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-5820603d-2a53-a205-ff09-876733058bf1" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">With Spin Sucks being a business book, I think it’s important to note that I was never bored reading it. I didn’t find myself wanting to skip ahead, or thinking that the chapter I was reading didn’t seem applicable to me.</span></span></b></div><b id="docs-internal-guid-5820603d-2a53-a205-ff09-876733058bf1" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-5820603d-2a53-a205-ff09-876733058bf1" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I think everyone who reads this book will come away with learning at least a few things that they can put to use right away. And, the glossary at the end will really come in handy for reference. I ordered the paperback since my advance copy was an e-version. It just came in the mail today and I can’t wait to go back to re-read and highlight the heck out of it!</span></span></b></div><b id="docs-internal-guid-5820603d-2a53-a205-ff09-876733058bf1" style="font-weight: normal;"></b>Audrey Schroderhttps://plus.google.com/115740603399835945263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5580081772592973941.post-86219572937256262822014-03-02T02:15:00.000-06:002014-11-18T11:56:36.205-06:00Why social media cross-posting is bad practice<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">A friend of mine who owns his own business recently told me that he likes Instagram because he can post from Instagram to Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare at the same time.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: inherit; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">Totally cringe-worthy. This means that he is sharing the exact same content to all of his followers regardless of network or audience.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><h1><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Every platform is unique</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></h1><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">Each social network has its own purpose, and is different enough from the others to offer something special. By blasting the same message across all platforms, you are not taking advantage of the unique offerings of each platform.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: inherit; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">Why is your company on Facebook, Twitter, or other social networks?&nbsp;</span>You want to share valuable content.</span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: inherit; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">If you share content on more than one social media network, why are you on each of them? Why do your followers choose to follow you on Twitter, Facebook,</span>&nbsp;<span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">and</span>&nbsp;<span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">Pinterest? If you’re sharing the same content on each platform, then why should one person follow you on all three?</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: inherit; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">There are different reasons for each platform, and this depends on the way information is shared, the audience type, and it’s purpose. When we develop content for our audiences, we have to decide which network will best service that content.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><h1><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Reasons not to cross-post</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></h1><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">The main problem with posting the same exact message at the same exact time, is that you’re not making the message special for an individual network. And frankly, it makes you look lazy.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: inherit; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">Everyone who follows you on two or more of your social networks is likely to see that one message across all of them. Who wants to see the same thing twice?</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: inherit; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">Amy Donohue also sees cross-posting as a bad idea. In <a href="http://fabamy.wordpress.com/2011/11/01/why-you-shouldnt-cross-post-between-twitter-facebook/" target="_blank">Fab Amy's Blog</a>&nbsp;</span><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">she writes:</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">“Twitter is for information sharing and engagement one-on-one. You don’t get the thread you get on Facebook.”</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: inherit; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">Let’s say you want your community members to interact with each other, and build off of each other’s ideas.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: inherit; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">Facebook and Instagram are good for this because of the way they show threads. Others can easily see, and respond to comments in a single thread.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: inherit; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">You</span>&nbsp;<span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">can</span>&nbsp;<span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">try to do this with Twitter, but some people won’t include everyone’s Twitter handles in their replies, making it difficult for others to see their comments. You are also limited by character count.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><h1><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Reasons to cross-post</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></h1><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">Cross-posting saves time.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">Rather than reposting a message everywhere, with a couple clicks, just broadcast the same message to all your platforms at once. Voila! Your afternoon social media message is posted to all your sites. Saving time is good. But don’t do it at the expense of a well-planned strategy.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: inherit; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">A valid reason to cross-post is to get followers who follow you on one site to also follow you on another. By posting from Pinterest to Twitter, your Twitter followers will see the link to your pin, and may decide to follow you on Pinterest in addition to Twitter.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: inherit; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">By gaining more followers on another network, you are adding to the times that this one person is seeing your messages, and keeping you on the top of their mind. Someone may not react to something you tweet, but will react to a pin.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: inherit; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">Social media consultant Sean Gardner benefits from cross-posting. He likes posting links to his Google+ page from Twitter. He’s gained a lot of new followers on Google+ by cross-posting this way.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: inherit; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">In</span>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.2morrowknight.com/two-great-ways-to-cross-post-in-social-media/" target="_blank">Two Great Ways to Cross-Post in Social Media</a><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">, Sean points out that he’s been told not to cross-post the same content on different platforms because they all have different personalities. He says that’s why you</span>&nbsp;<span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">should</span>&nbsp;<span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">cross-post.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: inherit; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: inherit; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">As you can see, there are reasons for and against cross-posting. I still think it’s a bad idea, but maybe you think differently. Do you cross-post? Why or why not?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: inherit; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">This was originally published on the <a href="http://socialmediaclub.org/blogs/from-the-clubhouse/why-social-media-cross-posting-bad-practice" target="_blank">Social Media Clubhouse Blog</a>.</span></div><!--EndFragment-->Audrey Schroderhttps://plus.google.com/115740603399835945263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5580081772592973941.post-75634538658387477502013-12-23T21:45:00.003-06:002014-11-18T11:57:09.374-06:00Movies I have to watch every Christmas<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AV45M3cOEjY/UrkAIacynhI/AAAAAAAAARM/DqbbAQ9qCK0/s1600/Christmas.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AV45M3cOEjY/UrkAIacynhI/AAAAAAAAARM/DqbbAQ9qCK0/s1600/Christmas.jpeg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">It's the most wonderful time of the year. Christmas is the biggest holiday in America. That means there are a ton of Christmas movies. These are my favs that I have to watch at least once during the holidays:</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>1. A Christmas Story.</b> Who can't resist little Ralphie, Black Bart, the leg, the Bumpus's dogs, that darn furnace, and the Red Ryder BB Gun with a compass in the stock? I LOVE that TBS has an all-day marathon of the timeless classic every year. My family loves this movie just as much as me. Whether we watch it all the way through, or catch bits and pieces throughout the day, we'll for sure be saying lines from the movie during Christmas.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>2. Home Alone</b>. I could watch this one over and over again. And I do. I'll catch it at least once during the holidays. Little Kevin's smile is just too much, and his pranks are the best. One of the best lines:&nbsp;"Hold out your little paw there." as Santa gives Kevin a couple Tic Tacs because "everyone that sees Santa has to get a little something."</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>3. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation</b>. Oh Clark. You and that family of yours cracks me up every time. Seriously, every time. Hey I saw an ad for a bar in Chicago having a <a href="http://www.redeyechicago.com/entertainment/restaurants-bars/eatdrinkdo/ct-red-things-to-do-chicago-1220-21-22-20131219,0,7004929.story" target="_blank">contest to dress up</a> as one of the Griswolds. That would be quite the scene! If I had to choose, my favorite character would probably be sleezeball Eddie. He's just so slimy.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>4. Elf</b>. Classic Will Ferrell. Watching him struggle with items made for elves that are too small is so funny. I love how innocent he is about everything. One of the best parts is when Elf builds the New York city skyline out of Legos.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>5. The Holiday</b>. Kind of a bizarre plot, I mean who would actually trade houses with a total stranger? But it definitely makes for a great movie. Plus, how can you not resist Jude Law?</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Merry Christmas ya filthy animal. And happy New Year too!</span>Audrey Schroderhttps://plus.google.com/115740603399835945263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5580081772592973941.post-87865474420711772282013-11-01T07:56:00.002-05:002014-11-18T11:57:37.005-06:00Politically correct Halloween costumes<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ayn0gsGdCR8/UnOkt3sj40I/AAAAAAAAAQs/g-F4JV82waU/s1600/Halloween.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ayn0gsGdCR8/UnOkt3sj40I/AAAAAAAAAQs/g-F4JV82waU/s1600/Halloween.jpeg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white;">Halloween is by far my favorite holiday. I have always loved deciding on a costume, buying the outfit and accessories and getting ready. It's the one day that you can pretend to be anyone. This year I heard about a horrific costume. The "Anna&nbsp;Rexia" comes with a skintight black dress with a skeleton on it, a heart name tag, and measuring tapes for the waist and neck. It came out two years ago and since then it's designer has been fired, and the company who produced it, is no longer making it. I saw a link to a&nbsp;<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/24/anna-rexia-costume_n_4155987.html" target="_blank">Huffington&nbsp;Post article</a>&nbsp;on&nbsp;Facebook, and shared it on my Wall. A high school friend commented. She said that it wasn't that offensive. I brought up that Anorexia is the mental illness with the highest mortality rate. I asked her to remember that a classmate of ours had died from a heart attack at 16 because of complications from Bulimia, a close sister to Anorexia.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;">People have been donning pillows and fat suits for years. I don't know when that started, but as awful as it is, the trend unfortunately won't end anytime soon.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;">I attended a Halloween party this past weekend. A girl had created a Divvy bike (Chicago's bike sharing program) out of plastic and duct tape. She covered her head, face and neck in fake blood and&nbsp;tah-dah&nbsp;a bike accident. So creative. I love it. But then I got thinking. If I had someone close to me die from a bike accident I would be horribly offended by this. There's no way I would have thought it was funny or clever.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;">The list of offensive costumes gets longer by the year. Even with campaigns from various groups for people to stop dressing up as different races, this is a problem that's just not going anywhere. The woman who wrote&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ivillage.com/offensive-halloween-costume-ideas-make-us-sad-humanity/4-a-549046" target="_blank">this article</a>&nbsp;for&nbsp;iVillage&nbsp;is right in every point she makes, but she comes off as a total bore. How far do we have to go to be politically correct? What I guess it really comes down to is our own life experiences to determine what we will or won't be offended by. What costumes are you offended by? Have you ever worn something that seemed like a good idea at the time, and later you realized it wasn't?</span>Audrey Schroderhttps://plus.google.com/115740603399835945263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5580081772592973941.post-89744541969165619522013-10-01T00:11:00.001-05:002014-11-18T11:52:21.045-06:00Running Highwood's Bloody Mary 5k<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IQGYMkGSzbg/UkpYnG8pZlI/AAAAAAAAAQE/gAI7nmPCeaI/s1600/Picture+11.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IQGYMkGSzbg/UkpYnG8pZlI/AAAAAAAAAQE/gAI7nmPCeaI/s1600/Picture+11.png" height="270" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Race day swag: Bib, t-shirt, vodka,<br />and mini sewing kit (hey, ya just never know!)</td></tr></tbody></table>I recently ran my second 5k. My friend Marilyn and I decided in the Spring, that we needed something to motivate ourselves to work out. We signed up for the <a href="http://www.celebratehighwood.com/bloodymary.html" target="_blank">Bloody Mary Fest 5k race</a> in Highwood, Illinois. Five weeks prior I found a training program on about.com. I printed the program on a Friday, and the following Monday after work I was ready to get training. The first day we were to run 10 minutes, and walk 1, then repeat twice. Each day we added two minutes to the run, which were every other day.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a>Before starting the training, I was working out a couple times each week, either running or biking. But I wasn't totally committed to a plan. Having a training schedule in black and white on my fridge was actually super helpful. I loved doing a workout and checking it off afterwards. Seeing those X's pile up was kind of fun.<br /><br />The day of the race finally came. Marilyn got to my apartment at 6:30 a.m. We arrived in Highwood about 7:15. But no one was there. Wow, the first ones! How about that?! We parked the car, and walked back to the designated spot to wait. We started talking with another woman who had arrived early. We watched the organizers set up and waited for instructions. About 15 minutes before the race, they announced we would have a quick warm up and then it would be go time.<br /><br />All right, so we were off. My goal for this race was to run the whole 5k without taking a break or walking. I had done my whole training program and I wanted it to pay off. There was one girl who started out running, then would walk, and kept going like that throughout the race. I joked with Marilyn, "watch she finishes before us." (For the record, that didn't happen ;) )<br /><br />They had markers along the course that showed how far we were. Just after the 2 mile marker there was a photographer capturing all the contestants. As I was nearing him, I was hoping the picture wouldn't turn out too derp. Getting closer and closer, and wait, what - I pass him and no flash! What, no picture? I was kind of pissed. Here I was running and sweating and carrying on, when I'm pleasantly surprised that someone is going to capture this proof, when bam! nothing. What the heck? Finally it occurred to me that the photographer must have thought that I was a neighbor, out for a morning run. Now I've been in a few mountain bike races and one 5k before this, and I know that it's <a href="http://beta.active.com/running/articles/the-dos-and-don-ts-of-race-day-etiquette" target="_blank">bad luck to wear the t-shirt</a> you get in your swag bag. Duh. Well I had that going against me, plus I had my number bib on my back. Doh!<br /><br />Okay so I was ready for this thing to be over with. And boy was I thirsty. I imagined there would be water stations along the course, at least two. So the race was 3.2 miles. It's not anything super crazy, but when you're working hard, some hydration would be nice. At last, I see the place we started, with a big crowd. As I'm nearing the crowd, my eyes are scanning left and right for a finish line. Nothing. Well I have to finish where they're timing this thing, so I just call out "where do I go?!", and luckily someone tells me. Alright, I am done! I did it, without stopping to walk. I feel great. A girl hands me an index card with my time. Ok, where's the guy handing me a glass of water? Oh, there isn't one. Damn. I'm thirsty now. Huffing and puffing I finally get some water. After asking for it.&nbsp;I turn in my time and get a teeny Bloody Mary, sit down on the curb and wait for Marilyn to finish.<br /><br />It feels good to have accomplished this, and I'm looking forward to my next race. And next time I'll be sure to wear my bib on the <i>front </i>of my shirt.Audrey Schroderhttps://plus.google.com/115740603399835945263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5580081772592973941.post-32613611907302950042013-09-25T20:06:00.001-05:002014-11-18T12:07:23.214-06:00Nissan at Social Media Week Chicago<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g7SrcIoByXs/UkOHQnsTTDI/AAAAAAAAAPk/gmEfIW0xbp4/s1600/Picture+10.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g7SrcIoByXs/UkOHQnsTTDI/AAAAAAAAAPk/gmEfIW0xbp4/s1600/Picture+10.png" height="296" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Erich Marx of Nissan</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="MsoNormal">The Social Media Week Chicago session “Nissan: Test And Learn: Nissan’s approach to taking risks in social media” (<a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23smwtestnlearn&amp;src=typd" target="_blank">#smwtestnlearn</a>)&nbsp;took place at the beautiful Chicago Cultural Center. Led by Erich Marx, Director of Interactive and Social Media Marketing for Nissan North America, this was easily one of the best presentations I went to this week.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><a name='more'></a>Nissan’s tagline is “Innovation that excites” and that’s just how they run their social media too. Marx wanted the car company to be “a cool brand in the social space that people want to invite into their newsfeed.” Marx mentioned that online issue resolution is becoming a bigger opportunity for Nissan, and most likely for other brands as well. People are using social media to solve issues immediately. Customer service being handled via social media is a common theme throughout a lot of events I’ve attended this week. It’s been brought up several times as part of the speaker’s presentation and as an audience question during Q&amp;A.<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">“I want our Facebook brand page to be just like Nordstrom’s Café.” said Marx. He explained that you don’t have people bringing you sales racks, or showing you different shoes to buy. You’re not being sold. He doesn’t want his FB page to be about selling to customers. The online place for that is <a href="http://nissanusa.com/">nissanusa.com</a>. On FB they are building a relationship, not selling cars. Some companies are different. People buy cars every 3-5 years, not every 3 months. So they don’t want to bombard fans with sales. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Marx says to be open to trying new things. Nissan really enjoys Vine. They put together a contest to leverage this channel. They were going to have customers create Vine videos about their new Versa Note. A week before they were to launch, Instagram came out with their 15-second videos. They knew people would be using that platform more for it’s longer video capability and didn’t want to lose out to that. So to adapt, they decided to make their contest a “InstaVine”, where contestants could use either platform to enter. Marx then - and this is pretty cool - showed us their new never-before aired commercial. It showcased 3 winners’ videos from the contest. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The #1 thing they always ask themselves before posting a message is “Is this shareable?” If it’s not shareable or exciting, they don’t share it. Marx then talked a little about comedy in social. He said it has to have a purpose. Ask yourself, how does your brand tie in? Your brand should not be the punch line of any joke. Your brand should not be Gilligan, Urkel or Sheldon. It has to make sense when you use it. On the same subject of posting, Marx said they don’t post more than once per day. “I don’t even want to hear from my best friend more than once a day.” Wow does that makes a lot of sense!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">In exploring new-to-them social channels, Nissan partnered with mommy blogger Amy Lupoid Bair. &nbsp;She worked with the company before in different ways, so she was a trusted partner. She helped Nissan with their Pinterest pinning party. It’s important to take calculated risks and make sure there is a ceiling to your exposure. What Nissan learned from this is that when doing something for the first time, be sure you trust who you’re working with.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Another thing they learned is to do what works. One social media goal for them was engagement. They gave their fans the opportunity to build their own race car. Their fans told Nissan what kind of engine, suspension, breaks, etc. to use on the new car. They used this crowdsourcing to actually build a car. Project 370 Z was a collaboration of what their community wanted. When the program ended, a lot of fans were sad, so Nissan extended it. It showed their community that they were listening to them and that they care about them. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">If you learn to do what works, you also have to learn to not do what doesn’t work. An example of this when they held a Google+ hangout to promote their 2013 Nissan pathfinder. It didn’t work out as well as they would have liked, so they haven’t done one since. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u_KvD_Apvug/UkOHjlq3ofI/AAAAAAAAAPs/qHpI8YmeSYo/s1600/photo+1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u_KvD_Apvug/UkOHjlq3ofI/AAAAAAAAAPs/qHpI8YmeSYo/s1600/photo+1.jpeg" height="268" width="320" /></a>Then Marx brought up a term that I’ve never heard of before. The “COI” thing. That stands for&nbsp;Cost Of Ignoring. Marx believes that social ROI is elusive. Not well-defined. He thinks people spend way too much time trying to figure out the ROI on social media. He said “losing sleep over ROI is crap. Don’t worry about it. Worry about the cost of ignoring.” The fact is, is that people are online talking about brands. Companies need to be on social and realize it’s an important way to connect with customers and build loyalty. He said COI is every bit as important as ROI, if not more.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Takeaways from this talk:</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><!--[endif]-->Be open to new and unexpected outcomes. </div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><!--[endif]-->It’s not social just because it is on social media.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><!--[endif]-->Set aside a small budget for experimentation. </div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><!--[endif]-->Basic marketing rules of thumb still apply.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><!--[endif]-->Make good relationships with innovative partners.</div><!--EndFragment-->Audrey Schroderhttps://plus.google.com/115740603399835945263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5580081772592973941.post-71693626012495554332013-09-23T22:43:00.002-05:002014-11-18T11:58:59.963-06:00Social Media Week Chicago 2013: Day 1<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O53TjK3aHU8/UkEKFrNXU-I/AAAAAAAAAPU/TFXKYyP-2iU/s1600/SMW+swag.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O53TjK3aHU8/UkEKFrNXU-I/AAAAAAAAAPU/TFXKYyP-2iU/s1600/SMW+swag.jpeg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SMW Swag</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Today was the start of this year's<span class="apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><a href="http://socialmediaweek.org/">Social Media Week</a><span class="apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>in Chicago. SMW holds sessions all over the world including Berlin, London, Hong Kong, Sao Paolo, and more. I first participated in this awesome event last year.&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Last year I attended sessions on everything from holding Pinterest contests and using SEO in PR, to pitching venture capitalists and learning how Nike's Twitter followers helped transform Kobe Bryant into the Black Mamba.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">This year there are 186 events just in Chicago!&nbsp;Today I attended three sessions at Morningstar, and two at the Chicago Tribune. The first was a talk with Morningstar's Founder Joe Mansueto. The hashtag for this session was #smwmorningstar. He talked about his company's culture, and how their management team spends a lot of time making sure their employees have a really good working environment. He mentioned their floor to ceiling windows and newsroom-like offices, with low partitions conducive to productivity. He said everyone has the same work area, no matter whether you're a higher up or a recent college grad. It was really interesting hearing his perspectives on business.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">#smwckcontent</span></b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The next session I attended was "Content Marketing That Wins:&nbsp;Making brands, readers AND Google happy. It&nbsp;was led by Cramer Krasselt's&nbsp;<span style="background: white;">Nick Papagiannis, Scott Smith, and Steve Radick. This was a really fun presentation. These three talked about the importance of learning who your audience is, and tailoring content that is useful to them, and relevant to your organization. They said brands should really focus on telling their unique stories.</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 12pt;">One of the coolest things about attending social media conferences is that the audience is usually all about sharing their learnings online. We don't like to keep info just for ourselves, so we tweet it. There's a lot you can learn just from following Twitter feeds for the individual sessions. That's why SMW has special hashtags for each event. You can see more of what was said during this session by going to Jeana Anderson's<span class="apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://storify.com/JeanaAnderson/c-k-presents-at-social-media-week-content-marketin" target="_blank">Storify</a></span><span class="apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>that shows tweets from people who attended.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">#smwConfessions</span></b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">After a quick bite at Wao Bao, it took me about 15 minutes to walk to the Chicago Tribune. My next event was called "Confessions of a Community Manager." This session was especially cool for me, because my former boss and community manager mentor, Alex Levine was on the panel! The other panelists were Mary Brennan from Broadway in Chicago, and Max Crowley, Senior Community Manager of Uber.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">When asked about which social networking sites your brand is on, Crowley said he likes Instagram because when you are scrolling through your feed, your attention is focused on one post at a time. There is nothing distracting to the left or right of each individual picture. That totally makes sense. Facebook has ads all over the page, and Twitter has sponsored tweets that you can't get away from.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">When asked about creating image-based content, Alex mentioned a web-based app called<span class="apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><a href="http://pixlr.com/">Pixlr</a>. She and the other panelists agreed that being able to create content quickly is important. Sometimes you don't have time to wait for a design team to create something for you. This tool allows you to take a product photo and insert a fun background behind it. She also uses Photoshop and stock photos for her content creation work at Mike's Hard Lemonade.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The panel was asked about responding to negative comments. Crowley said "how would you respond to someone on the street who's complaining?" Treat them like a regular human being. Alex says to take the "customer service speak" out of it. Talk to them like a regular person, and chances are, that person will come down to your level. Mary weighed in by saying that just by extending your personal contact information, you are letting that person know that you really do want to help them, and at the same time show the other people following your brand that you care, and want to help that disgruntled customer.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">#smwSMhabits</span></b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The next panel I attended was also at the Tribune Tower. "Good Habits of Successful Social Media Managers" was the topic. Understanding your customers' behaviors and their motivations is very important to the social strategist's role, says&nbsp;<span style="background: white;">KC Geen, Social Media Manager of GrubHub.</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 12pt;">Divvy's Marketing Manager Elliot Greenberger said being able to&nbsp;empathize&nbsp;with customers is important. You need someone who will be able to immediately recognize where a dissatisfied customer is coming from. Some people are just trying to pick a fight. Others just want a sounding board, and someone who will listen to their problems.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 12pt;">Matt Kelly, Senior Community Manager at Social@Ogilvy said their community managers are titled "community directors". They're not just doing community management. They know and understand analytics. They are business partners to the client. They provide insights from the community that prove their value. Matt's advice is to read. You have to realize that a lot of what you're doing has already been done 100 years ago. Community managers combine PR, advertising, and marketing into what they do. Today we're taking those tools and using them on different channels than before.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 12pt;">In figuring out which platform to be on, you want to be able to be fully be there 100%. You have to look at the demographics of the people you want to attract, and see where those people are hanging out online. Grubhub used to be just on Twitter and Facebook. Their customers said they don't like Facebook because their moms are on it. They've recently added Instagram and Snapchat to the mix. They're able to do that because they've grown and now have the resources to expand the number of platforms they are on.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 12pt;">KC warned about letting your staff get siloed into platforms. In companies where certain people focus on a&nbsp;particular&nbsp;platform, it's&nbsp;important&nbsp;to understand the audiences of the other&nbsp;platforms&nbsp;you are on. Everyone on the social team should be aware of the&nbsp;behaviors&nbsp;of the different communities on other platforms. Knowing your audiences on the other social networks can help you with the channel you're covering.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 11pt;">#seoforPR</span></b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 12pt;">The last session of the day was led by Nick Papagiannis of Cramer Krasselt. The session was called "SEO Strategies for PR and Social Media." He talked about how Google has recently changed to improve the user experience. These include page load time, device viewing, in depth articles, authentic content, and organic links.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 12pt;">Page load time - this has been a key factor in search engine&nbsp;rankings, but Google continues to elevate it. A bad load time is anything greater than 3 seconds, otherwise&nbsp;people&nbsp;will drop off. for every 1 second delay in page time, you get 7% loss in conversions. Google's PageSpeed Insights page is free and&nbsp;actually&nbsp;gives you tips on how to improve the speed. Nick says anything less than 70 out of 100 should be looked at, and improved.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 12pt;">Device viewing - make sure your website is optimized for viewing whether it's on a phone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer. Using responsive design on your website solves this problem.&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Organic links - sites with more links pointing to them helps them rank higher.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Brands need to use several different links styles. These include branded (a brand name or website is the term), partial match (links that&nbsp;include&nbsp;several terms), and exact match (links that include only&nbsp;specific&nbsp;terms that you want to rank in search engines for). Google is now penalizing sites that use exact match links. Companies should be using branded and partial match links to grow their sites' SEO.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">I'm back in the office tomorrow, but will be back at Social Media Week on Wednesday and Thursday! Which SMW events will you be attending this week? Let me know, maybe we can meet up and chat social media!</span><br /><!--EndFragment-->Audrey Schroderhttps://plus.google.com/115740603399835945263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5580081772592973941.post-57420198117220218312013-08-28T00:24:00.001-05:002013-08-28T11:34:45.484-05:00How hospital photo negates credibility<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qiRGumet5KY/Uh10BlvgayI/AAAAAAAAAOg/SSXYJt_qEKg/s1600/Picture+9.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qiRGumet5KY/Uh10BlvgayI/AAAAAAAAAOg/SSXYJt_qEKg/s1600/Picture+9.png" height="320" width="288" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front cover of Advocate's Fall 2013 issue</td></tr></tbody></table>Junk mail. Everybody gets it, few read it. Days when there aren't catalogs, bills, or anything else to distract me, I might actually take a glance at a community newsletter. Well this happened to be one of those days. I received "Inspiring medicine. Changing lives." from Advocate Christ Medical Center. On the cover of this issue, a woman is casually sitting on a motorcycle. She's wearing high heels and her hair and makeup look pretty fresh, so it's doubtful she was out biking when she decided to stop and get her pic taken for a hospital newsletter. OK, so what's the big deal, huh? Take a close look.&nbsp;What's missing from this picture?<br /><br /><a name='more'></a>A helmet. There's no accompanying helmet. Not on the front page, nor any of the other three pictures for this story. I don't get it. How do you not show a helmet next to a big bike? Or better yet, how about putting the helmet on the chick? So what am I all bent out of shape for exactly? If this was the cover image for a clothing or travel company I might be <i>slightly</i> more forgiving. Emphasis on slightly. But no, this is a newsletter from a hospital. Yes, a hospital. C'mon this one's a no brainer. No matter the editor/photographer's personal point of view on helmets, they're working for a hospital publication. Hospitals are supposed to help people get and stay healthy. So promoting helmets while riding motor bikes is something they should be doing. And not even having to think about it.<br /><br />As of now, based upon this single article, I would not use Advocate. The only way they could redeem themselves is in a future issue. In one sentence, the editor could say: "On the cover of our Fall 2013 issue, we inadvertently left out Jamie's helmet, which she uses on every ride." An apology is the best solution to this problem.<br /><br />What do you think? Let me know in the comment section, I'd love to hear how you feel about this.Audrey Schroderhttps://plus.google.com/115740603399835945263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5580081772592973941.post-58517741742182108982013-07-08T20:09:00.000-05:002014-11-18T12:00:04.976-06:00SMC Chicago's #MappyHour<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_9O9HgbTLGI/UdtggGdsLYI/AAAAAAAAAN0/5wxo_VDcXqE/s1600/1016764_538447546191032_728809371_n.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_9O9HgbTLGI/UdtggGdsLYI/AAAAAAAAAN0/5wxo_VDcXqE/s1600/1016764_538447546191032_728809371_n.jpeg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SMCC Board Members Rebecca Otis,<br />Carolyn Martin and yours truly</td></tr></tbody></table><a href="http://techweek.com/" target="_blank">Techweek</a>, the annual conference for all things technology recently came to Chicago. Social Media Club Chicago helped celebrate by hosting a "Mappy Hour" at Google. On a very rainy day in June, social media enthusiasts and Techweek attendants turned out to Google's Chicago office. At 5:30 pm, guests began mingling and snacking on fresh fruit fruit, veggies and drinking from a selection of beers, wine, and soft drinks. To begin the event, SMCC President Jeff Willinger welcomed everyone and introduced former SMCC Board Member Amy Ravit Korin, Regional Community Manager Lead of MidWest US for Google. She explained that Google would soon be coming out with their new maps, and that&nbsp;Aaron Babst would go over them in full detail during his presentation. Aaron is a community manager for Google and runs&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GoogleLocalCHI" target="_blank">@GoogleLocalCHI</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/GoogleLocalPDX" target="_blank">@GoogleLocalPDX</a>.<br /><br />Aaron showed us how Google was able to stitch together photos of the same places to create mini virtual tours of places like the Vatican.&nbsp;He&nbsp;said "Our goal is to map the entire planet and you guys can help us do that. Anyone can edit Google maps."&nbsp;Motivate Design captured <a href="https://vine.co/v/haT0EhU9UXP" target="_blank">this clip</a> on Vine. The new maps are entirely interactive, so you can click on areas and the map will display places related to your search terms, and how to get there. You can even see bicycle routes and flights right from the map!&nbsp;Google will soon be rolling the new maps out. But for now you can request an invite <a href="http://maps.google.com/help/maps/helloworld/desktop/preview/" target="_blank">here</a>.Audrey Schroderhttps://plus.google.com/115740603399835945263noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5580081772592973941.post-58890844956834141252013-06-22T01:11:00.000-05:002014-12-30T15:10:56.662-06:00BlogWell Social Media Conference recap<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4C4oehrIJYE/VKMUkKqowPI/AAAAAAAAAaw/6XN2kDbrqQI/s1600/994828_608968709136197_1688261924_n.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4C4oehrIJYE/VKMUkKqowPI/AAAAAAAAAaw/6XN2kDbrqQI/s1600/994828_608968709136197_1688261924_n.jpeg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">[Photo credit:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.608966855803049.1073741828.189829821050090&amp;type=3">SocialMedia.org</a>]</td></tr></tbody></table>On Wednesday, I attended SocialMedia.org's Chicago <a href="http://www.socialmedia.org/blogwell/" target="_blank">BlogWell</a> conference. BlogWell: 8 Great Case Studies on the Best Social Media Programs at Large Corporations takes place in several cities each year. I was asked to help capture some of the session info by live blogging. This being my first go at live blogging, I was naturally a little nervous. The sessions I were to cover were U.S. Bank, Humana, and Moen. I arrived at SIX10 at about 12:30 with plenty of time to check in, snack on some appetizers and talk with a couple vendors (Sprout Social and Adobe). It was pretty cool that they had a guitarist setting the mood for the day by playing Beatles songs.<br /><br />When it was time for the conference to begin, I sat next to my friend Autumn at the table reserved for us live bloggers. She was covering the very first session. After that it was time to head upstairs to the ninth floor for Track 2.<br /><br />My first live blog focused on Karen Gutierez, Social Media Director for U.S. Bank. As part of their social media strategy, her team created 65 page "playbooks" similar to sports playbooks. They have one for each platform they are on. Their purpose is to outline the audience type, objectives, and tone of voice needed to accomplish those objectives. The books are so detailed, that if an employee wanted to create a second Facebook page, they could hand them the Facebook playbook and know exactly how to use that platform in the best way for the bank. You can read my full coverage&nbsp;<a href="http://www.socialmedia.org/blog/us-bank-creating-social-media-strategy-and-playbooks-live-from-blogwell/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br /><br />Next, I heard from Humana's Social Media Marketing Consultant Chuck Stephens, who is funny and really knows how to capture an audience (both on and offline). One thing he mentioned in <a href="http://www.socialmedia.org/blog/humana-proof-in-our-social-pudding-live-from-blogwell/" target="_blank">response</a> to a question, was that every single Facebook post and tweet that goes live must be seen by 24 people. Twenty four people! Can you imagine?! It completely astounds me that they have to be that careful. It also made me realize how lucky I am to work in an industry that is not highly regulated (yet!).<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d7vccwbOAN8/UcU_DX0YVLI/AAAAAAAAANg/eRaXWt8NSok/s1600/Picture+10.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d7vccwbOAN8/UcU_DX0YVLI/AAAAAAAAANg/eRaXWt8NSok/s320/Picture+10.png" height="320" width="317" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ginny Long of Moen</td></tr></tbody></table>The last <a href="http://www.socialmedia.org/blog/moen-engaging-new-fans-on-social-live-from-blogwell/" target="_blank">talk</a> I listened to was by Ginny Long, the Director of Digital and Direct Marketing for Moen. She walked us through the phased approach that her company took to get where they are today on social. They found success using a blogger outreach program. Their team targeted 10 blogs that write about home improvement and remodeling. By forming relationships with these bloggers, Moen was able to get them to test products and then write about their experiences. It was interesting to learn that their audience on social media don't engage with infographics, but do respond to questions posed.<br /><br />That last session ended at 5:00 sharp, and boy was I ready to be done! The organizers at GasPedal warned the day would go by fast, and we should plan for snack and bathroom breaks. They couldn't be more right on! I learned so much at the same time trying to capture as much as possible that at the end of the day I was exhausted. It was truly a fantastic experience, and I'm thrilled they asked me to blog for them.<br /><br />Have you attended a BlogWell event before? What companies did you hear from?<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Audrey Schroderhttps://plus.google.com/115740603399835945263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5580081772592973941.post-43689693325396534852013-05-20T08:52:00.000-05:002014-11-18T12:01:18.573-06:00How a dollar store razor made me seek out something better<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XXSTNxi_VBE/UZm9TegrGVI/AAAAAAAAANE/snaKkXCBMiU/s1600/photo-6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XXSTNxi_VBE/UZm9TegrGVI/AAAAAAAAANE/snaKkXCBMiU/s1600/photo-6.JPG" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>To clarify, I am not a product reviewer. Nor do I care to be. However I recently "discovered" a product that I felt the need to share with every little shaver I know.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5580081772592973941" name="more"></a>This story begins with a trip to the ol' dollar store. Most dollar stores usually carry at least one thing everyone can use. Food. Cleaning supplies. Holiday decorations. In preparation for an upcoming trip I picked up a package of 10 razors. They looked just like those Pepto-Bismol-pink colored Daisy ones. One lotion strip followed by one or two blades. Once I was on vacation and went to use one it didn't work. The razor would not actually cut the hair. Thinking it must just be that particular one I grabbed another. Nope. The second and third didn't work either. Being several miles from the nearest store without transportation, this was just not cool. But, what could I do? I just had to deal. Pretend I was European or something...<br /><br />When I returned home I decided to splurge a little on my next razor. Scanning the options at Walgreen's my eyes fell upon a pretty light blue and pink package. Behold, the <a href="http://www.gillettevenus.com/en-US/products/spa-breeze-razor/" target="_blank">Gillette&nbsp;Venus Spa Breeze</a>. It's alluring proclamations "scent of white tea" (because yes, I <i>have</i> always wanted my legs to smell like white tea); "smooth your skin and indulge your senses!"; "makes shaving a breeze" drew me in. What a concept - the lotion is actually built into the razor in the form of a shave gel bar. You just have to get it wet and start shaving. I mean, this is pretty clever. It even comes with a suction cup to hang the razor up in the shower when you're not using it. How about that? So I plunked down the 20 bucks, hoping to "reveal the goddess in me."<br /><br />I am here to tell you, the goddess has come out. And she has silky-smooth gams! This little razor came through on all of its promises. It is so easy to shave now. I don't have to remember to buy shaving cream, and the white tea scent is pretty nice.Audrey Schroderhttps://plus.google.com/115740603399835945263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5580081772592973941.post-71369760409338075282013-02-24T13:19:00.000-06:002014-11-18T12:08:36.672-06:00Using social media to generate leads<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.75pt;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DWuS9bZ1SYs/USpCptjMtCI/AAAAAAAAAKA/knhHaGXQMmY/s1600/Brandi.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DWuS9bZ1SYs/USpCptjMtCI/AAAAAAAAAKA/knhHaGXQMmY/s1600/Brandi.png" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;">Left to right: Elly Deutch, Andrew Barber,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;">Brad Farris,&nbsp;</span><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;">Brad Wilson.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;">Photo courtesy of Brandi Heinz Brown (@brandiheinz)</span><span style="line-height: 12.75pt;">.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table>So you weren’t able to make it to SMC Chicago’s <a href="http://www.facebook.com/events/492212294168828/" target="_blank">February event</a>? Not to worry! You can still learn a few things from those that did go.<br /><br />Wednesday’s event consisted of three panelists: Andrew Barber, Brad Farris, and Brad Wilson. About 60 people came out to Howl at the Moon to learn about how bloggers and authors use social media to find leads and grow their businesses.<br /><br /><br /><a name='more'></a>Self-described “hip-hop nerd” Andrew Barber is the founder of <a href="http://www.fakeshoredrive.com/" target="_blank">Fake Shore Drive</a>, a Chicago entertainment and music blog. <a href="https://twitter.com/blfarris" target="_blank">Brad Farris</a> is a business growth advisor with Anchor Advisors and executive editor and publisher of <a href="http://www.enmast.com/" target="_blank">EnMast</a>. The founder of <a href="http://www.bradsdeals.com/" target="_blank">Brad’s Deals</a>, Brad Wilson also came out to speak. He recently published his book “Do More, Spend Less: the new secrets of living the good life for less.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">SMCC Board Member <a href="https://twitter.com/deutche" target="_blank">Elly Deutch</a> moderated the discussion. Here are just a few of the tips the panelists shared with us:<br /><br /><ul><li>(If you’re on Facebook or Twitter) “you don’t want to flood content on your followers’ timelines.” – Barber</li><li>“I always had a clear picture of who our audience was.” - Wilson</li><li>“Bloggers are not creepy, sitting in their basements in just underwear. We’re out and about meeting people and networking.” – Barber</li><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kVUfk5voJGM/USpADeoR2OI/AAAAAAAAAJo/art10sIhqwo/s1600/Barb.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kVUfk5voJGM/USpADeoR2OI/AAAAAAAAAJo/art10sIhqwo/s1600/Barb.png" height="200" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of<br />SMCC Founder&nbsp;Barb Rozgonyi</td></tr></tbody></table><li>“Don’t be automated, be personal!” – Wilson</li></ul></div><h4><ul><li><span style="font-weight: normal;">“Focus on what’s working for you.”&nbsp;</span></li></ul><span style="font-weight: normal;"><u>Question</u>: How do you put yourself out there to fuel success?</span><ul><li><span style="font-weight: normal;">“You have to get uncomfortable. It builds from there. Get out there and hustle.” – Barber</span></li></ul><ul><li><span style="font-weight: normal;">“Online only gets you so far – face to face is very important.”&nbsp;</span></li></ul><span style="font-weight: normal;"><u>Question</u>: What tools do you use?</span><ul><li><span style="font-weight: normal;">"HootSuite, Google Analytics, WordPress Analytics." - Farris&nbsp;</span></li></ul></h4><u>Question</u>: When did you know you made it in social media?<br />Wilson was recognized by a flight attendant when he was sitting in first class. The attendant said he’d figured he would be in first class. Wilson said he’d only purchased the upgrade because he got a great deal (of course!).<br /><ul></ul><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0I0_nHMIdUM/USpBjvq7D_I/AAAAAAAAAJ0/aiNzukQ7y5A/s1600/Elly.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0I0_nHMIdUM/USpBjvq7D_I/AAAAAAAAAJ0/aiNzukQ7y5A/s1600/Elly.jpeg" height="200" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of<br />SMCC Board Member Elly Deutch</td></tr></tbody></table>Thanks to Autumn McReynolds (@AutumnMcRey), Tim Piotrowski (@TimPio), Brandi Heinz Brown (@brandiheinz), James Ellis (@saltlab) and SMCC Board Members Caleb Garder (@calebgardner), and Elly for using the hashtag “#SMCChicago” while live tweeting. If it wasn't for them, some of these tidbits wouldn't have been captured!<br /><br />I'm looking forward to next month’s event at Draftfcb on March 26 and hope to see you there!<br /><!--EndFragment-->Audrey Schroderhttps://plus.google.com/115740603399835945263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5580081772592973941.post-14078165232668298422013-01-27T21:53:00.002-06:002014-11-18T12:02:13.186-06:00 Gogobot Chicago's "Snap & Brunch" event<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4JEpPDPLMhw/UQXyM5S2lNI/AAAAAAAAAI4/OaN9i4v-BkM/s1600/IMG_2253.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4JEpPDPLMhw/UQXyM5S2lNI/AAAAAAAAAI4/OaN9i4v-BkM/s1600/IMG_2253.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I made this postcard at gogobot.com for free!</td></tr></tbody></table>The travel website and app, <a href="http://www.gogobot.com/" target="_blank">Gogobot</a> Chicago along with <a href="http://www.twitter.com/JenTravelsLife" target="_blank">Jen Knoedl</a> of JenTravels hosted "Snap &amp; Brunch" today at the downtown Chicago restaurant <a href="http://mercatchicago.com/" target="_blank">Mercat a la Planxa</a>. For a mere $25, attendees got a three-course brunch, access to a DIY bloody mary bar, some picture-taking tips from professional photographer&nbsp;<a href="http://www.jeffschear.com/jeff-schear-visuals-l.html" target="_blank">Jeff Schear</a>, and a tour of the Renaissance&nbsp;Blackstone Chicago Hotel by concierge Shannon Boland.<br /><br />About 11 guests came to the event which began at noon with an introduction to our chef Mark Sabbe and bartender. I met <a href="http://www.twitter.com/JanelleRominski" target="_blank">Janelle Rominski</a>, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/MKinChiTown" target="_blank">Mary Kay H.</a>, Michael, Joe who brought an impressive-looking camera, and a couple - Sophia and Andrew. The table settings were dressed up with the brunch menu, and a bunch of fun Gogobot swag including sunglasses in assorted colors, blue and silver metal bottle opener key chains, buttons, pens, luggage tags, and hi-microfiber cleaning cloth.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SEmFhneO5ME/UQXzFDlp71I/AAAAAAAAAJE/xilX6zW7hao/s1600/IMG_2251.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SEmFhneO5ME/UQXzFDlp71I/AAAAAAAAAJE/xilX6zW7hao/s1600/IMG_2251.JPG" height="200" width="171" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Salmon Benedict</td></tr></tbody></table>While everyone was getting settled in, we got to sample the meat, cheese, and dessert station located in the center of the dining room. Our first course consisted of sweet potato-almond milk buckwheat pancakes topped with sliced strawberries, cardamom whipped cream, and syrup on the side. These were most excellent. And then came the bacon wrapped dates. They were delicious, and tasted just like Cafe Babareeba's. Our second course was a salmon benedict and peppers. The beautifully-plated benedict was made of seared skuna bay salmon, a poached egg, a sherry compressed tomato, and maltese sauce atop a potato croquette. The padron peppers, green and shaped like chili peppers were served with a yummy salbitaxada sauce. By the time our third course arrived I was feeling pretty full, but didn't want to miss out on the revuelto de conejo and cochinillo asado. The first was soft scrambled eggs, braised rabbit, brussels sprouts leaves, glazed carrots and truffle chestnut toast. The cochinillo asado was a roasted suckling pig with grilled onions and romensco sauce. I didn't like this dish so much, but I think that if it was served first, with the pancakes as dessert last, I may have liked it better. But then, if the pancakes were served last, I might not be able to enjoy them so much because I might have been too full.<br /><br />The bloody mary bar had three choices of mixes - a traditional, and then two lighter mixes - one a pale green, the other pink. I went for the traditional, and added chili powder, paprika, a pepper shaped like a tiny pickle, and a celery stick. They had one kind of fun addition which was a jalapeno pepper stuffed with sausage and a watermelon ball on either side stuck on a skewer.<br /><br />While we ate, Jeff shared some tips on picture taking. He said when using a smart phone he tries not to use a flash, as the lighting technology hasn't yet caught up to the camera's capabilities. He also said perspective is something that can really help flatter the subject. By shooting down from above, people are forced to look up, hiding the illusion of a double chin.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tSyI1MQVRak/UQX0Kz-3g4I/AAAAAAAAAJU/gOWKGFsIr9I/s1600/IMG_2260.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tSyI1MQVRak/UQX0Kz-3g4I/AAAAAAAAAJU/gOWKGFsIr9I/s1600/IMG_2260.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ballroom</td></tr></tbody></table>When our brunch ended we met hotel concierge <a href="http://www.twitter.com/MsShanBo" target="_blank">Shannon Boland</a> who gave us a thorough tour of hotel beginning with the now defunct barbershop.&nbsp;The floor has its original marble, and fabric wallpaper, large mirrors and chandeliers decorate the room.&nbsp;Twelve presidents have stayed at the Blackstone and all got their hair cut in the barbershop. Al Capone frequented this shop in part because it has a second exit. When police would enter through the front, Capone could easily slip through the side door.<br /><br />Next we saw the art room which was really more of a long hallway. It's filled with really cool modern furniture, mirrors, red carpet, and artwork from Columbia College. There is a peculiar set of stairs that lead to nowhere. There are a few sprinkled throughout the hotel. They were put in by a transcendentalist architect who believed they would help spirits roam the halls.<br /><br />Our next stop was the ballroom, a moderately sized room surrounded by an upper balcony overlooking the room, gorgeous chandeliers, and window seats lining the entire wall facing Michigan Avenue. We also toured the Presidential Suite and Sky room. The Sky room was so cool. Very modern and it has a sky light that you can close with a switch.<br /><br />The next time Gogobot hosts an event, you should definitely go!Audrey Schroderhttps://plus.google.com/115740603399835945263noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5580081772592973941.post-78847938782722865642013-01-25T00:35:00.002-06:002014-11-18T12:09:00.700-06:00SMC Chicago panel discusses mobile apps<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I4yFOMRVvLo/UQIcifmsFNI/AAAAAAAAAIo/BTzGXDIttEo/s1600/Picture+20.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I4yFOMRVvLo/UQIcifmsFNI/AAAAAAAAAIo/BTzGXDIttEo/s1600/Picture+20.png" height="316" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mobile App Discussion Panelists</td></tr></tbody></table>On Tuesday the Social Media Club of Chicago (SMCC) held a panel discussion about mobile apps and ads. ITA/TechNexus made their office space available and&nbsp;<a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/100190650099587663358" target="_blank">+Ramon De Leon</a>&nbsp;provided a ton of delicious Domino's pizzas, as he so generously usually does for SMCC events. The panel consisted of the following five individuals who work in the tech field and are all quite knowledgeable about mobile marketing:<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br /><ul><li>Todd Shingler, Founder of Mobile Perspectives (<a href="http://www.twitter.com/toddshingler" target="_blank">@toddshingler</a>)</li><li>Dane Drotts, President of Genexus USA (<a href="http://www.twitter.com/ddrotts" target="_blank">@ddrotts</a>)</li><li>Hugh Park Jedwill, President of Heartland Mobile Council (self described long-haired Asian,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.twitter.com/mobilebranding" target="_blank">@mobilebranding</a>)</li><li>Jessica Connors, Director of Business Development at Techweek (<a href="http://www.twitter.com/thetechweek" target="_blank">@thetechweek</a>)</li><li>Michael Sheehan, Director of Sales at Adaptly (<a href="http://www.twitter.com/michaelsheehan1" target="_blank">@michaelsheehan1</a>)</li></ul><br />The panel was moderated by SMCC Board Member <a href="http://www.twitter.com/cm_socialmedia" target="_blank">Carolyn Martin</a>. Attendees began piling in around 5:30 p.m., eager to get out of the brisk Chicago weather. Miller Lite and Chicago's 312 were served along with white and red wine. These events are always so much fun. You often see new faces mixing with the social media professionals who never miss an SMCC event. Some of the people who usually attend, and who came out on Tuesday night include:<br /><br />Darcy Schuller<br />David Lasker<br />Hope Bertram<br />Tim Piotrowski<br />Jeannie Walters<br />Rashid Temuri, also known as ChicagoCabbie<br />Ryan Zieman<br />Patrick Bachelor<br />Gordon Dymowski<br />Jon Kee<br />Felicia Yonter<br /><br />I had the pleasure of meeting Sabrina Fruehauf, from DePaul's social media club and marketing consultant Chris Rollyson. In addition to Carolyn, the other SMCC board members that were there were Elly Deutch, Caleb Gardner, and Jeff Willinger.<br /><br />When asked about their favorite mobile apps, the panelists said Flipboard, POP, Spotify, ESPN Watch, and Stumbleupon were their top picks. The panelists shared their predictions on the future of technology - augmented reality, people-to-machine, mobile transactions, mobile becoming wearable as in glasses and watches, and even internal. There is actually a pill that you can swallow that will communicate with your health care provider!<br /><br />A few nuggets from the discussion...<br /><br /><ul><li>"It all comes back to user experience. Mobile has to be simple."</li><li>"The best mobile apps are consumer-specific, not brand-specific, simple, and integrate with other apps."</li><li>"Think about basic things your customers would want to do on your site from a mobile device." -&nbsp;@mobperspectives</li><li>"Consumers don't care about how great your product is - that's not worth an app." -&nbsp;@mobilebranding</li><li>"If your brand is posting mobile links, be sure to have a mobile site first."</li><li>"It's important to have mobile strategy since 60% of Facebook and Twitter users are on mobile. They may click a link and arrive at a non-mobile site."</li><li>"Successful mobile apps are simple, focused, and targeted."</li><li>"Know who you're trying to reach."</li><li>"At the end of the day whether social, mobile, web or print, it all comes down to content and strategy. Most importantly "know your audience."</li><li>"Simple and seamless are the two most important mobile app characteristics."</li></ul><div>Special thanks to&nbsp;@jeanniecw, @RebeccaOtis,&nbsp;@moniqueterrell&nbsp;<a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/104076814186051158404" target="_blank">+SMCEDU DePaul</a>&nbsp;for tweeting notes!</div>Audrey Schroderhttps://plus.google.com/115740603399835945263noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5580081772592973941.post-38583918039722237232013-01-21T20:59:00.001-06:002013-02-24T13:58:53.497-06:00Thank you notes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GZHrH9EjLjo/UP3_2pT9y1I/AAAAAAAAAH8/ydGMkw43VpA/s1600/Image.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GZHrH9EjLjo/UP3_2pT9y1I/AAAAAAAAAH8/ydGMkw43VpA/s1600/Image.jpeg" height="147" width="200" /></a></div>Since we were old enough to write, my mom had my siblings and I writing thank you letters for every present we received. Our aunts, uncles, and grandparents could guarantee a thank you note from each of us soon after each birthday and Christmas. I think after all those years I really rather enjoyed getting out my address book and box of note cards, sitting down and remembering who gave me what. It was fun to think about all the gifts I'd received. It didn't matter when I sent the letters, just that I did. After my grandmother died we found dresser drawers filled with letters from my siblings, cousins, and I. She enjoyed our letters so much so that she kept all of them. Perhaps keeping that in the back of my mind forces me to continue writing them.<br /><br /><br /><a name='more'></a>Mail from a friend or relative is always fun to get. Whether it's a little holiday card, or just a note to say 'hi', I don't believe anyone would not be excited to open a letter from someone they know. Not many people write real letters anymore. The mail can't be all that thrilling when all you get is bills and coupons you'll never use.<br /><br />It's become a habit for me and even into my adult life I still send thank you letters. The aunt and uncle that I used to write to are still my elders, so why shouldn't I take the time to write a quick note? Just &nbsp;because I've got my own life, and job, and bills is no reason to stop. So, although my birthday was nearly three months ago, I decided to still write my aunt and uncle for the new running shoes and socks they gave me. I know they'll be appreciative that I took the time to write. Besides that, I look forward to brightening up their day just a tad with my thank you note.Audrey Schroderhttps://plus.google.com/115740603399835945263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5580081772592973941.post-86067758034862224202012-12-16T00:29:00.000-06:002014-11-18T12:10:10.001-06:00Operation Santa<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ISDjNPsKVq4/UM1pEbSnNvI/AAAAAAAAAHg/ulJz2u943Hs/s1600/Picture+22.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ISDjNPsKVq4/UM1pEbSnNvI/AAAAAAAAAHg/ulJz2u943Hs/s1600/Picture+22.png" height="183" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">[Image courtesy of operationsanta.com]</td></tr></tbody></table><div>The US Postal Service has been receiving letters addressed to Santa Claus for over 100 years. In 1912 Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock began allowing employees and the public to respond to the letters. &nbsp;The program became known as "Operation Santa" (and&nbsp;"Letters to Santa").&nbsp;Cities across the country participate by working with individuals, charities, schools, and businesses to respond to and/or fulfill the wishes included in the letters.</div><div><br /></div><div><a name='more'></a>I just learned about the program this year through the Chicago Tribune and was compelled to help. After checking out the website <a href="http://operationsanta.com/" target="_blank">Operation Santa Claus</a>, I got the scoop on how it works.&nbsp;First find out if your local post office is participating (click&nbsp;<a href="http://operationsanta.com/operation-santa-participating-usps-office-list-2012/" target="_blank">here</a>). If it is then go there, pick a letter to "adopt" (the max is 10 per person), then either respond to and/or purchase the items asked for. You can wrap the presents if you like, then put it in a box to ship. Take it back to the post office, pay for the shipping, and the letters or box(es) are delivered. If your local post office does not participate, you can still help by donating online.</div><div><br /></div><div>Any personal information like last name, mailing address, or phone number on the letter is blacked out to protect the writer's identity. The letters are marked with an ID number so the post office can match the number to their records and where to send the packages.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>At the main post office in Chicago located at 433 W. Harrison St., the letters that come in are photocopied, personal identity information blacked out, and organized into categories by boy or girl, English or Spanish, and number of children in the writer's family. This particular office is open Monday through Saturday from 8am to 8pm, and Sundays from 8am to 4pm. Operation Santa is set up on the second floor with friendly helpers, information about the program, holiday decorations, boxes of letters categorized, and a few tables where people can sit with a stack of letters to read.</div><div><br /></div><div>Some letters were written by kids, some by moms, and some by grandmothers. The stories that these people told were absolutely heart-breaking. Some children wanted Santa to help their single mom and siblings have a few presents under the tree this year. Many moms wrote saying they had recently lost their job, that times had become rough, how it is difficult paying bills, and would be so thankful if they could give their children winter coats, or just a couple of presents. I also read letters from grandmothers who were struggling to give their grandchildren Christmas gifts. Some said they just want to put smiles on their grandchildren's faces and make them happy. Someone even wrote that it would be nice to receive some food.</div><div><br /></div><div>Reading the letters was overwhelming. It really made me think about my own life and how I had never known what it was like to wake up Christmas morning with no presents to open, maybe no breakfast. It made me feel really lucky to have the life I do. I cannot even imagine how difficult it is for so many people. They are struggling to put food on the table and dress their children in warm clothes. I'm glad this winter has not been terribly cold.</div><div><br /></div><div>It was pretty hard deciding who I was going to help. The post office estimates one million letters are mailed to Santa each year. I'm pretty sure that a lot of the letters won't be answered, that there are just too many people in need.&nbsp;The first letter I "adopted" was written by a mom with six kids who had recently lost her job. She didn't ask for anything specific. It sounded like her children would be happy to get anything this year. The other letter I picked was written by a grandmother with three grandkids of whom she is the sole caretaker. She said they needed winter coats, gloves, scarves, boots, and some clothing. As a side note, she wrote "if you can a few toys please, whatever you can do would be greatly appreciated from the heart."</div><div><br /></div><div>Today I'm asking that you help however you can. If you can adopt a letter and help one family this year, please do. If you cannot spend much, how about making a small donation to Operation Santa? If you yourself is struggling, then at the very least you can tell others about this amazing program so that they may use their resources to help others.</div>Audrey Schroderhttps://plus.google.com/115740603399835945263noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5580081772592973941.post-79046800324779007402012-11-22T21:21:00.000-06:002014-11-18T12:06:24.901-06:00Turkey Day<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N7pQvxbCrl0/UK7qFo5-48I/AAAAAAAAAGQ/sD3hcmIo940/s1600/McD+TDay+Parade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N7pQvxbCrl0/UK7qFo5-48I/AAAAAAAAAGQ/sD3hcmIo940/s320/McD+TDay+Parade.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo credit: WGN News</td></tr></tbody></table>Happy Thanksgiving! I spent today with my parents, brother, and boyfriend in Michigan. We had the typical American Thanksgiving - eating, watching football, playing board games, and just hanging out. As with most holidays, I received a few texts from friends wishing me a happy Thanksgiving, or as a co-worker so eloquently sent "happy t day". &nbsp;I don't understand why people send mass "happy holiday" texts in the first place, let alone when they include dead giveaways like "happy holidays <i>everyone</i>" or "happy holidays to you <i>guys</i>". Why bother sending a message so impersonal? Is it to remind people that you still exist? Eh, maybe they're just trying to be nice after all, and I should give 'em a break.<br /><br />This morning I watched about an hour of WGN's coverage on McDonald's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I was pretty impressed with all the acts they showed. The Gentleman's Rule was first. This group performed a beautiful cover. I also saw a dance troupe - DancExcel, Chicago Swingkids, The Other Cinderella, "With Bells On" performed by the Gay Men's Chorus, formed in 1983, a group of four guys who sang about Christmas in different parts around the world including Ireland, Mexico, and a Jewish Hanukkah. Sashe Taylor dance group began their act with the main dancer hopping out of a cab. She wore a strapless black leather top and skirt and bright red high heels. When she started bopping around I couldn't believe that she was performing in those shoes! About five other women were also able to dance in heels.<br /><br />I'm lucky that I am able to come back home and see my family, especially during holidays. A lot of people can't travel home for various reasons. The trip is simply too far and too costly. Some have to work and can't spend the holiday relaxing in their own home, let alone visit their family. Many people don't even have families to visit. It's so important to remember that as bad as you think your life situation is, there is someone out there struggling in much worse circumstances. This holiday is all about remembering and being thankful for all the good in our lives. I feel very blessed with the family and friends I have, my job, my health, and my apartment. I am fortunate to have grown up with all the things I need and want. This year I want to constantly remind myself that my life is pretty darn awesome. I hope that you too have things in your life that you are happy about, proud of, and are thankful for.<br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br /><!--EndFragment-->Audrey Schroderhttps://plus.google.com/115740603399835945263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5580081772592973941.post-78261080828976443902012-07-09T21:26:00.000-05:002014-04-03T21:06:23.271-05:00Sex, politics and religion"Do I have any liberal friends? Don't be shy." <a href="https://twitter.com/tamcdonald">Tim McDonald</a> asked this question on Facebook today. I immediately decided to respond with "‎I'm a bleeding heart lib! 1. I support a women's right to choose. It's her body. "Keep your laws off my body"; 2. I am for stricter gun laws, and actually would love to see them banned (but that darn 2nd amendment gets in the way); 3. I'm against the war; 4. I'm a bit of a tree hugger and would love for everyone to care just a bit more about our planet and banning plastic bags; 5. I'm pro same sex marriage; 6. I think it's sick that so many Americans don't have health insurance (including myself!) and that we should all have it." For some reason out of all the messages posted today filling up my News Feed this one was the one I saw. I am so glad I did. The passion that I have for my own political beliefs is strong and I became inspired.<br /><br />I'll never forget the questionnaire I took in high school sociology class. It was a list of questions meant to determine a student's political views and help realize the political party with which they most identify. I scored completely on the liberal side. Every single answer I gave was aligned with the typical Democratic point of view. It was in high school that I first became interested in politics. I was a member of the Young Democrats Club that met once per week after school. We had tremendous fun learning about current news, attending political events, campaigning for various political candidates in Grand Rapids and Rockford, and meeting those involved in local governments.<br /><br />I was fortunate enough to attend a week-long seminar called <a href="http://www.closeup.org/">Close Up</a> in Washington, D.C. I couldn't have been more excited. We toured the US Capital, Capital Hill, Senate and House of Representatives, the Iwo Jima Memorial, the Abraham Lincoln Memorial, the National Mall, and the enormous Library of Congress. We met Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin. It was one of the best trips I'd ever taken. I was one of about ten students that attended from my school. The lectures were full of kids from all around the country and I made a lot of friends during the week. If you have an opportunity to go, I'd highly recommend it.<br /><div><br /></div><div>There are two major issues that I am very passionate about: a woman's right to choose and gun control. First off it is inconceivable to me that some think they should be able to decide the future of pregnant women. If a woman accidentally gets pregnant, and cannot become a parent for any number of reasons, why should she have the child? To leave at a police station or fire house? To give to another family, when there is no shortage of children who need families and homes? To become a slave, a punching bag, a depressed young life that no one cares for? How is going through an <a href="http://www.prochoiceforum.org.uk/psy_ocr2.php" target="_blank">unwanted pregnancy</a> a good thing? How on earth can someone think they can decide the fate of another woman? What one does with their body is their own business.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>The sayings "Keep your laws off my body." and "If you don't like abortion, don't have one." perfectly sum up my feelings on the subject.&nbsp;I believe the court case of Roe vs Wade was one of the most important decisions ever made in American history. If America is the home of the brave and land of the free then shouldn't the decision to choose be decided upon by the woman whom is most affected by her decision?</div><div><br /></div><div>Make your argument. I dare you.</div>Audrey Schroderhttps://plus.google.com/115740603399835945263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5580081772592973941.post-90393116083356386402012-07-02T23:14:00.000-05:002014-11-18T12:05:43.426-06:00My social media jobI started working for <a href="http://www.vapor4life.com/" target="_blank">Vapor4Life</a> one year ago. I began as an intern and after three months was hired as their social media community manager. I absolutely love my job. I am responsible for engaging our fans, keeping them interested in Vapor4Life, answering their questions, and relaying their concerns and suggestions back to management. During my internship I built the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/OfficialV4L" target="_blank">Facebook Page</a>, revived the <a href="http://www.twitter.com/vapor4life" target="_blank">Twitter account</a>, and learned all I could about social media.<br /><br />In the past year, I think I've learned more than I have the last four years in my previous positions. I've learned about blogging, messaging, forums, Twitter outreach, social media monitoring, and more. Before applying for the internship, I loved being on Facebook. Like the rest of the world I would spend hours looking at friends' photos, checking out pages of brands I like and catching up with old friends. I never realized that being on Facebook was an actual job that people had. It never occurred to me that all the messages from companies and organizations that showed up in my news feed were written by people in the role of community management.<br /><br />Having come from a background of Public Relations and customer service, social media and community management was pretty easy to fall into. The job requires both a desire to spread the word about your organization as well as help foster an active community built up of customers, fans, and brand ambassadors.<br /><br />The world of community management and social media strategy is incredibly fascinating. I take every chance I get to attend an event for the industry. So far, I have been to a Chicago Community Manager Tweetup,&nbsp;a SMCChicago Holiday Party - Sugar &amp; Spice, a Community Manager UNconference, a SMCChicago "Optimize and Socialize" event with author Lee Odden, a Mastering Pinterest, Facebook's New Business Timeline &amp; Google Plus event, a Chicago Tweetup with Mark Schaefer, and a Social Media Day event. There are always interesting topics and friendly, helpful people working in the industry at these events. It's really fun to see people that I've met at other events and get to know them better.<br /><br />Coming into my second year as a community manager I hope to learn even more and continue to develop relationships with influential and knowledgeable thought leaders!Audrey Schroderhttps://plus.google.com/115740603399835945263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5580081772592973941.post-63856383493304349182011-11-27T09:50:00.000-06:002014-04-03T21:07:24.972-05:00The rules<div>What are rules for? Traffic laws ensure motorist and pedestrian safety. Writing rules make writers better at their job. School rules help teachers corale their students. They're in place to make sure we don't act like jerks.&nbsp;There are so many rules to remember, but without them, our society would be chaotic, unmanageable, Neanderthal-like. And then there are some rules that are just meant to be broken.<br /><u><br /></u><u>General</u>:</div><div><u></u><br /><u></u></div><div>Mind your manners.</div><div>Don't speak until spoken to.</div><div>Don't talk back.</div><div>Wash your hands.</div><div><div>Smile.</div><div>Say please and thank you.</div><div>Watch your step.</div><div>No turn on red.</div><div>Pedestrians have the right of way.</div><div>Pretend you're fascinated by conversation, even if you're bored to tears.</div><div>No yawning.</div><div>No burping.</div><div>Don't make a scene.</div><div>Hold my hand.</div><div>Look both ways.</div><div>Clean up after yourself.</div><div>Don't drink from the milk carton.</div><div>Don't overeat.</div><div>Wear a helmet.</div><div>Bundle up.</div><div>Hit save!</div><div>Save money.</div><div>Open a 401 K.</div><div>Get married and have kids before you turn 30.</div><div>Clean up your messes.</div></div><div>Respect your elders.</div><div>Always write a thank-you letter after receiving a birthday or Christmas present.</div><div>Be sure to remove the price tag before giving a gift.</div><div>Clean the house before Mom gets home.</div><div>Don't burn your bridges.</div><div>Get a trim every 6 to 8 weeks.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Writing</u>:</div><div>'I' before 'e' except after 'c.'</div><div>Don't use cliches.</div><div>If you keep a blog, you need to post at least once per week.</div><div>Don't forget about and abandon your website.</div><div>Spell check.</div><div>Blog posts should be around 4-600 words long.</div><div>Tweet back.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Fashion</u>:</div><div>No white pants or shoes after Labor Day.</div><div>If you expose a lot of skin on top, cover up on the bottom, and vice versa.</div><div>No panty lines.</div><div>Don't let your bra straps show.</div><div>No socks with sandals.</div><div>Don't wear black and brown together (unless you're doing it on purpose, and never ever wear black shoes with brown socks).&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Cell phone</u>:</div><div>Don't use it around company.</div><div>Put the ringer on silent in interviews and movies.</div><div>Don't talk as loud as you do in person.</div><div>Call people back.</div><div>No talking in the bathroom.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Visitors</u>:</div><div>Give them a fresh towel and sheets.</div><div>Let them have the last piece of pie.</div><div>Let them decide the tv show.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Photography</u>:</div><div>Keep all limbs inside the frame.</div><div>Delete bad pics (no matter how bad you want to keep them for black mail).</div><div><br /></div><div>What rules do you have?&nbsp;</div>Audrey Schroderhttps://plus.google.com/115740603399835945263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5580081772592973941.post-65291092462379401012011-10-09T13:11:00.000-05:002014-04-03T21:11:10.610-05:00Letter to the editor about cellphones in school<br /><div class="MsoNormal">I sent in this letter to the Chicago Tribune today in response this to this article: <a href="http://trib.in/qpHxBJ">http://trib.in/qpHxBJ</a>&nbsp;</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Dear Editor,</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I was thoroughly disgusted with the article “School makes call: Teens can hold on to cellphones,” by Bridget Doyle, published Sunday, October 9, 2011 (Section 1, page 20). The headline itself made my blood boil. The headline should have been “Teens win: Schools hang up backbone.”<br /><br />First off, this is clearly a case of administration not wanting to take a stand against teens. Schools that claim technology is the reason for allowing the use of cellphones is garbage. I think these schools have lowered their standards, threw up their hands and said “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” The article states “…Maine Township High School District 207…loosened its rules…after school officials…pointed out most students didn’t follow it anyway.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Not only is the whole issue disturbing in that teens are making the rules, but also in the case of status symbols. School is hard enough for some teens, just trying to fit in with their peers. Some kids don’t come from families with money to spend on brand name clothing or shoes. Now, they not only have to worry about merely owning a cellphone, but also having a cool one.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Lastly, allowing cellphones at school creates a whole new cost factor to institutions that need money to be spent on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">learning</i>. It is also not affecting just Chicago-area residents, but every city in America as well. My mom for example teaches middle school in a suburb of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The school budget has no room for school supplies, so year after year, my mom spends her own money to purchase materials for her classes and her students. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The final statement in the article refers to the cost. Marge McMahon, a teacher has noticed the school’s wireless network has slowed tremendously. Bill Walsh, an assistant principal stated that bandwidth “is something we are looking into...Questions like, ‘When we max connectivity, what are we going to do?’ ”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I don’t think schools should allow kids to have cellphones in school. This issue is not something to take lightly. Nor does it only affect people who work in schools, or teens, or the parents of teens. It will affect everyone’s wallets. Money talks. So maybe we should too.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Sincerely,</div><div class="MsoNormal">Audrey Schroder</div>Audrey Schroderhttps://plus.google.com/115740603399835945263noreply@blogger.com0